Somebody's Baby
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: Gibbs and Abuela pay a surprise visit to Tony at Ohio State.
1. Startled

Startled

Jethro stepped aside when they reached the doorway and motioned for Maria to have the honour of ringing the bell to Tony's apartment. She did so, beaming, and fell back against him as he grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I am so mucho excited to see my Antonio's home at his college!" Smiling, she enthusiastically rang the bell again, holding it down a bit longer than she had the first time.

Jethro couldn't help laughing at her anticipation, and at her delight in having her baby so near to her.

It opened abruptly, not more than a crack, to a leggy brunette clad solely in a tee shirt from Ohio State which reached past her knees and clearly belonged to Tony. It was apparent that she was not wearing anything else, and Maria frowned at Jethro. He shrugged his shoulders in reply and shook his head slightly.

The young lady had certainly surprised them, and in turn, she seemed taken aback at the appearance of strangers.

"May I help you?" the brunette asked, twirling a long tendril of hair around a finger while still holding onto the edge of the door.

"We're here to see Tony," Jethro explained, raising an eyebrow once he finally recognized the girl's outfit as his son's shirt.

Maria added, "I am Tony's grandmama, and this is his daddy."

The girl stepped back abruptly, nearly tripping in her haste, and the colour seemed to drain from her face. "Uhm, ok, come on in. Tony's in the back- in the bedroom. I mean that is where he was a few minutes ago. Make yourselves at home. I was just leaving."

She turned, no longer blocking the entry, and they followed her, not shutting the door to the bright early morning. The young lady quickly began grabbing her belongings, and sliding on her sandals and extracting her keys from her purse, she called out a warning, "Tony, I've got to go now. Call me later. You have visitors- in the living room!"

With that she waved good bye to them and bolted out the door, shutting it firmly behind her.

Jethro consulted Maria, "Did that young lady just run out of here wearing only sandals and a tee shirt?"

"Si, she did, and it was Bambino's shirt, too, and not hers. I guess it was a dress for her, though."

Jethro and Maria took a moment to look around the vacated living room appraisingly. Trashed was the descriptive word which came to mind first, and incredulous disbelief followed as the emotion. Beer bottles and pizza boxes covered every surface, along with empty Chinese food containers. Clothes cluttered almost all of the surfaces on the coffee and end tables. The entertainment system was open and videos and music disks lay scattered across the floor. School texts and notebooks covered the kitchen table.

It resembled a tornado zone, or the scene of a horrible firefight.

The visitors looked at each other in astonishment, each trying to interpret the state of the area.

Maria spoke haltingly, "Maybe he is making up now for all the years we made him clean his room."

Tony's voice floated from the bedroom, "Amber, Honey, wait a minute and let me tell you a proper, lingering good bye!" He jogged down the hall and into view, clad only in the boxers he was pulling up as he moved. When his gaze fell onto Maria and Jethro he stopped so suddenly that he nearly slammed into the wall, and his green eyes widened in shock.

"Daddy, Abuela- what are you doing here?" Once the words were spoken he took an assessing, panoramic look around the apartment and then down at himself and groaned audibly.

Gibbs spoke carefully, "Aren't you going to tell us hello, Son?"

Tony moved to them then, despite the obvious fact that the state in which his visitors discovered him and his apartment clearly embarrassed him.

He threw his arms around his father and hugged him quickly, then grabbed Maria and swung her, kissing her all over her face. "Mi abuela, te amo! I love you! You are my beautiful grandmamma and you are here with your Antonio, your very own baby."

When he finally put her down and allowed her to stand she was laughing, and she reached back up to pull him down for another kiss. "I have missed my boy so much!"

Jethro interrupted, "Why don't you go get dressed, Son, while we clear off a place for us to sit in the living room?"

Tony looked down at his lack of clothing and blushed. No doubt the other two had no delusions about what he and Amber had been doing.

Nevertheless he nodded, but asked, "Sorry about the mess- I planned to straighten the apartment this afternoon. Why didn't you tell me that you scheduled a visit so I could have things looking nice?"

"Forget it. We'll catch up in a bit," Jethro replied. "I am going to make a pot of coffee." He manoeuvred his way towards the kitchen, then looked back at his son. "You do still have the coffee pot and coffee I left here, right?"

Tony grinned mischievously, "Of course I do, Dad. What kind of a Jethro Gibbs son would I be if I didn't have your six in vitally urgent matters?"

Gibbs couldn't help but laugh. He left them and Tony turned to head for his room. Maria had decided to clear some of the furniture.


	2. Corrected

Corrected

"Abuela, let me take a quick shower, then I will dress and come socialize with you and Daddy." Flashing her one of his megawatt smiles, he added, "You can rock me then."

"You are much too big a boy to be rocked, Antonio. Besides, I don't see a rocker here," she reasoned.

He grinned as he sauntered down the hall. "You can just hold me then."

Maria stopped clearing the sofa of clothing and books and narrowing her eyes, called out with concern, "What are those marks all over your back, Nieto? Cuales son las marcas?"

He tried to pretend he had not heard her and kept moving, but she was unrelenting and her voice got louder and more insistent. "Bambino, stop moving right now! Come back here to me at once. Ven aqui."

Tony sighed in resignation and slowly walked back to the living room. "Aqui estoy. Here I am, Abuela."

Maria moved to examine his back up close. "Why are you scraped?" She reached up to prod the injured places gently. When he didn't respond to her question she spoke again, "I asked you, why does your back have blood, sangre, on it?"

Trying to avoid actually answering, he squirmed and attempted to move away from her. "Stop, Abuela, por favor, you are keeping me from my shower, and I need to go bathe!"

In the kitchen, leaning against the counter waiting for the coffee to finish perking, Gibbs sucked in a breath when he heard Tony's tone of voice. He could make a wager over the response which would follow, and cringed in sympathy from the kitchen.

Sure enough, Maria's hand connected with Tony's rear end in a loud slap. Tony yelped, loudly, and instantly covered his bottom with both hands in an attempt to deflect further blows.

"Usted sabe mejor que a una falta de respeto a mi! You know better than to be disrespectful with your voice, Antonio!"

Tony responded hastily, trying to turn his body so that he could protect his bottom from any further future pain, "Lo siento, Abuela, I am sorry! I did not mean that to come out in that way."

She grabbed his upper arm firmly and began pushing him towards his bedroom. "Go now and get your bath and then dress, but remember that you will not be disrespectful again!"

She punctuated her words with two more stinging slaps to his backside as they traversed the hall, and Gibbs couldn't help laughing at the situation. Despite the fact that Tony was now twenty one years old, fully grown, and over six feet tall at that, his abuela could always reduce him to the status of her little boy.

Jethro took a look around the kitchen and one around the living room and shook his head. Tony had definitely spent no time cleaning or straightening in the preceding week. Further, it appeared that he had celebrated Friday night with a plethora of friends, if the living room bore witness. When the coffee finished brewing he fixed two cups, and took a sip from one before he walked down the hall to give one to Maria, as well.

She was still fussing when he entered Tony's bedroom. "You were brought up to show respect and to have good manners, and you are not going to go to this Ohio State and then all of a sudden think you will not use them. This will not happen. I don't care how these students act, you know better than to behave rudely. You have been told this since a baby, and you know how to speak properly."

Wisely, Tony did not reply to the tirade, but looked up gratefully when he saw his dad, indebted to him for the interruption. Jethro handed the cup to Maria, who softened a bit, then took a good, appraising look at the bedroom. "Why does your room look like this messy tornado place?"

Jethro's gaze wandered over the disarray of the room. He smiled when he noted that the only framed photos visible happened to be two of Tony's favourites, and they rested on his bureau. The first was of him when he was around two, dressed in his Donald Duck blanket sleeper, and curled in Maria's lap as she rocked him to sleep, one of his hands rubbing her hair. That sight mirrored a thousand other times when Maria cuddled her bambino the exact same way. The other photo featured Jethro asleep in an outdoor chair on the balcony of the hotel they'd visited on their first trip to Campeche. His head was thrown back and a sombrero shaded his face, while his feet were crossed and rested on the balcony railing. Tony, still tiny at the age of five, sprawled on top of his father with his face resting against his daddy's shoulder, sound asleep as well, his arms and legs dangling.

Maria repeated, "Antonio, why does this room look like this?"

Tony frowned but wisely checked his tone of voice before answering softly, "Abuela, I was going to clean up today, really, and I had planned that for later in the afternoon."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that is good, then, because as soon as you finish your shower you will clean up this bedroom and then the rest of this apartment. You were not raised by savages or animals and this flat should not look like this. You do not just suddenly forget how you were reared and pretend you live in a barn when you are in Ohio."

Tony puffed his lip out into a pout and ran his hands through his brown hair. Truthfully, he had not even let the thought of straightening up enter his consciousness before Maria spoke or arrived on the scene. His vision of the day in question had involved more physical activity and enjoying other physical pursuits with Amber.

He looked appealingly at his father, but Jethro shook his head and left the room, smiling as he made his way back to the front of the apartment. Tony was on his own.

Maria pointed to the bathroom. "Go and bathe now, and then I have things for you to do."

Sighing in resignation, he headed for the shower, but turned around suddenly at the door and smiled a megawatt smile at her. "I have missed you, Abuela mia, and I am happy that you are here watching over me again." He moved back quickly and gave her a kiss, then hurried back into the bathroom to start the water.


	3. Coddled

Coddled

By the time he emerged a few minutes later with wet hair and a towel wrapped around his waist she had already picked up some of the clothing and made the bed. As soon as she saw him she ordered him to bring her the antibiotic cream. When he returned with the tube she gave him instructions to sit on the edge of the bed while she gently tended the scratches.

"Why are you scratched? Some of these are muy deep." she asked again.

"Ok," Tony resigned himself and admitted the truth, "Amber did it. She scratched me." At Maria's confused expression he elaborated, "Amber is the girl who let you in this morning."

Maria responded in a mixture of English and Spanish, insisting eloquently that this Amber needed to keep her claws to herself, and that her boy didn't need violent girlfriends. Tony wisely didn't respond, and finally Maria got quiet and then kissed him on the cheek.

"Get your clothes on, now Bambino, and then finish fixing this room before you come down that hall. Entiende usted?"

"Si, I understand." He watched her leave and smiled. He loved Abuela deeply, and was genuinely so excited that she was physically in his apartment.

Half an hour later he joined his family in the kitchen. Gibbs raised an eyebrow, "Room clean, Son?"

Tony nodded, "Sparkling, you may check. Dad, did you save me a cup of coffee?"

Gibbs looked back at the pot regretfully. "Well, no, actually, I did not, but I will make some more."

Tony leaned over and hugged him, resting his head on his dad's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you, Dad, but why are you here?"

Jethro hugged him back and delivered a kiss to the top of his head, "We'll talk at lunch. Abuela and I plan to take you out wherever you want to eat."

"While the coffee is making for you, Antonio, you go clean the living room," Maria ordered.

Tony grinned and nodded, then hurried quickly to obey her instructions.

As he put the living room to rights, Maria and his dad joined forces and worked in the kitchen.

Finally the house was presentable and Maria content, and the three made their way to the Ohio State campus, where Tony insisted he wanted to tour them. He considered himself a loyal Buckeye and intended to show off the university which he would one day call his alma mater.

Gibbs had been to Ohio State a couple of times since Tony enrolled, but Maria enjoyed the novelty of her first visit.

Tony proved a wonderful narrator, giving the history of the school as well as pointing out interesting facts and trivia he had gathered about some of the landmarks. When they finally took their seats at a lovely seafood restaurant, they were tired, but a satisfied, happy tired.

After they ordered and while waiting for the food, Tony sat back in the chair, crossed his arms behind his head, and looked at them quizzically.

When they didn't speak, he ventured uneasily, "Hey, I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Why would you think that you are in trouble?" Gibbs set down his coffee cup as Maria settled more comfortably in her chair.

"Uhm, because this entire scene reminds me of past times when you two joined forces and ganged up on me and I subsequently got my butt spanked or another equally unwelcome punishment rendered. Of course I'm suspicious of you and your motives. That is my right as a dependent, as an experienced, lovable, adored child."

"What did you do to get yourself into trouble?" Maria questioned, looking him up and down warily.

"Nothing, nothing at all-" Tony sputtered the words as he defended himself.

Maria went back to studying the menu. "All right then, do not concern yourself so much, Bambino."

Tony sighed dramatically. Something was up, but he could not determine what. It would reveal itself before too long, no doubt.

"Hey, look at the dessert list. Yummy, I see key lime pie. My stomach just flip flopped in ecstasy and anticipation."

"Quit looking there, Antonio. You do not get the dessert until you eat the good lunch," Maria directed firmly, pointing him to the entree section of the menu.


	4. Pacified

Pacified

"Abuela, do you realize I have grown? I am no longer a baby or little kid." He protested softly, his green eyes glistening, then leaned over to kiss her, reaching up one hand to rub her hair.

"You are even now a baby. You are somebody's baby, my baby," she insisted.

Gibbs grinned at the picture. Despite Tony's words to the contrary, and the fact that he was in college, he still resorted to his childhood habit of rubbing Maria's hair for comfort or affection.

"Don't leave out his daddy's baby, too," Jethro smiled, pointing a finger at his heart.

Tony could not help but laugh at that. "Ok, then, I stand corrected. Somebody's Baby wants something to eat, soon, though, so that he can get to his dessert."

They all roared with laughter at the observation.

Once their food arrived, conversation revolved around chitchat and lapses of silence during which they savoured the delectable seafood feast.

Watching the waiter clear the dinner plates some time later, Tony looked hopefully at Maria. She laughed and directed the server to bring a tremendous slice of key lime pie, and Tony and Jethro grinned in return.

The waiter returned quickly, and Tony lost no time in enjoying the pastry.

Finally he settled back in his seat and directed his attention to the other two. "Please, now will you tell me why you are here? I mean, I absolutely love seeing you, but you threw me for a loop today."

"Well," Maria began, "You just returned here from your Christmas break not too long ago, and you were with me in Campeche until after Christmas Day."

Tony nodded, "Yes, of course, and I've just had classes again for a few days."

"Right, but after you left, I decided to fly to Washington for a few weeks myself, to visit my D.C. home. It has been too long since I returned to Virginia and spent any time."

She suddenly got silent, her mind focused on the months and years that had passed since she returned to Mexico for good.

"Go ahead, Abuela," Tony directed, glancing between Jethro and Maria. "Por favor, say the rest of what you were explaining."

Gibbs elaborated instead, "Son, you operated on a pretty short leash for the past couple of years - not by your choice, of course. I did not allow you to return to Ohio until you were a sophomore and I believed you had learned that your focus had to narrow to a tunnel vision towards your academics for the rest of your college stay."

Maria interjected, "That first semester as a freshman you came home to a world of trouble over low marks, your grades."

"Wait, hold on- you are not going to make me go back home to D.C. for school, are you?" Alarm bells went off in Tony's head and he sat up straighter in his chair, a forkful of pie halfway to his mouth.

"Calm down, Anthony," Jethro commanded, reaching over and putting his hand on Tony's arm. "Let us finish. I simply wanted to remind you that you had gotten down to business and earned the right to return to Ohio. Then that following year you fulfilled all of the requirements I wanted met to earn the privilege of trading in the dorm for your own apartment."

Tony flashed one of his megawatt smiles at mention of the flat. He loved the independence of having his very own place.

"Since then, Bambino, you have tended to your schoolwork, made good grades, worked a part time job, and made us very, very proud of you," Maria concluded.

Jethro smiled. "That sums up the reason we flew over this morning. We wanted to make sure you understood that you have exceeded our expectations, you have surpassed what we asked, and that we love you very much, Son."

Tony's breath caught and he turned away a second to get his emotions under control. When he finally felt composed he quietly asked for confirmation, "You flew all the way here, to Ohio State, to tell me this?"

Maria leaned over and touched his cheek, "Yes, you are correct, and we did. You should never go a moment without knowing how much you are loved."

"Or, how proud you have made us, Son," Jethro added.

The waiter interrupted with the receipt from the check and they quickly gathered their belongings and made their way to the car.

Tony spent the car trip back to his apartment deep in thought and strangely quiet. Jethro and Maria carried the conversation without him, realizing that he wanted some reflection time to mull what they had shared with him at lunch.

As Tony unlocked the door to the apartment, Jethro reminded Maria, "We can just safely stay another half an hour or so. I don't want us to miss our flight, and we need to turn in the rental, too."

Noticing his son heading into the kitchen Gibbs directed, "Tony, don't start a fresh pot. There's really not enough time left, and I can drink some coffee at the airport."

Tony nodded and reversed his direction.

Jethro had settled on the sofa and Maria had chosen the recliner. Tony perched on the arm of her chair a few seconds, then slid until he was ensconced in Maria's lap. She didn't say anything, but wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. He snuggled against her, then reached up to gently rub her hair.

Jethro watched his child, his eyes drinking in the picture.

Despite the fact that Maria was barely visible with Tony sprawled over her, she was smiling and softly humming. A time would never exist when Antonio did not belong to her, or to her heart.

Tony motioned his free hand in his father's direction, and when his dad acknowledged him with a nod, blew him a kiss, his eyes conveying the depth of his adoration for his daddy. Tony would never experience a world without his father's love shaping him.

Jethro pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to control his emotions and then seared that moment and that day in Tony's apartment into his memory.

Yes, Tony was Somebody's Baby, all right.


End file.
